VR Bound Announces Nominees For Inaugural 2017 VR Awards

An evening dedicated to celebrating the past years VR accomplishments.

Back in March, VR Bound along with their partners AMD, Foundry and HP asked VR enthusiast from all around the globe to nominate VR experiences, hardware, startups and innovations in 12 different categories for the inaugural 2017 VR Awards; an elegant black-tie event which will be held at the legendary Central London venue 8 Northumberland Avenue on October 9th.

VR was a big part of last year with new experiences, hardware and companies pushing the technology to the forefront of our everyday lives. 360VR videos and photos became a regular part of our social media feeds, billions of dollars invested in VR technology advancement, and a VR experience for everything from movie trailers, corporate training and Presidential farewells. It was indeed a big year for VR.

I spoke with VR Bound co-founder, Daniel Colaianni about what he hopes the VR Awards would achieve for VR technology and he says, “The VR Awards exists to promote growth and achievement throughout the immersive industry by reinvesting in promoting strategic partnerships.” The ceremony will have some of VR’s biggest luminaries in attendance all there to celebrate some of the outstanding milestones in the industry.

With almost 500 nominations submitted and the nomination process finally tallied, VR Bound has officially announced their nominee shortlist which includes names that you would expect to be on a VR award list, as well as some surprises. Colaianni told me, “the outstanding nomination process for the VR Awards 2017 is anything to go by, future years will continue to build upon the astounding work our nominees have been producing.” So much so that organizers are already taking registered interests for 2018.

Also announced was the judging panel that includes virtual reality experts such as Josh Naylor of Unity Technologies, Jenn Duong of Shiift, and CEO of Spiral Media Megan Gaiser. The complete list of judges can be foundhere.

Speaking with Josh Naylor from Unity Technologies about what he’ll be looking for when it comes to selecting in the category of VR experiences, “The best use of VR content for me is when it truly enhances an experience, something that is a thousand times more enriching to the user when in Virtual Reality compared to a flat 2D experience,” adding, “a product that immerses the user into a world and they forget about their physical surroundings.”

As for VR hardware, Naylor says, “I’m looking for something that allows the aforementioned content to reach its full potential whilst making itself as accessible as possible to consumers.”

Organizers of the 2017 VR Awards thought out each category very carefully to make sure the VR industry was properly represented during this night of recognition. Colaianni says “Our mission of being an inclusive awards body for the immersive sector spans far beyond just entertainment.” Along with categories that you would expect, such as gaming and entertainment, I was excited to see a category for VR education and training. An area of VR that I have personally done a lot of research on.

I reached out to Steve Bambury; Head of Digital Learning and Innovation at JESS Dubai, and asked him about his thoughts on VR education and training being recognized at the award ceremony. He told me, “The inclusion of an award for Best use of VR in Education and Training is a clear indication that developers are starting to recognize the potential that VR offers beyond entertainment.” He continues, “current students will grow up in a world that is permeated by VR on many levels so it’s important to introduce them to the concept.”

But enough with the category details, let’s dive right into the fun stuff, look at each category and see who made the nominee shortlist.

Something to note, all nominees had to be centered on a virtual reality experience, and not an augmented reality experience.

There you go, that’s the VR Bound VR Awards shortlist for 2017. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. Was there a VR experience or hardware that wasn’t listed that you feel should have been?